Electric toy monorailway system



United States Patent [72] Inventor Thomas 'l'outoundjis, Y 3086;47th St., Astoria, New York 11103 [21] Appl. No. 770,593 [22] Filed Oct. 25, 1968 [45] Patented Oct. 13, 1970 [541 ELECTRIC TOY MONORAILWAY SYSTEM 10 Claims, 15 Drawing Figs.

[52] US. Cl 104/1, 16/96,104/120,104/130, 104/148, 248/188.4 [51] Int. Cl B61b 13/06; EOlb 7/00,F16m 11/00 [50] Field of Search 104/120. 148; 105/99: 191/22, 23; 339/91 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,183,651 12/1939 Langston et a1. 339/91 2,708,888 5/1955 Varney 105/99 Primary E xzrminer- Arthur L. La Point Assistant Examiner-George H. Libman Attorney-Polachek and Saul sbury ABSTRACT: An electric toy monorailway system has an elevated monorail with recessed electrically'conductive strips on opposite sides to which electric voltage is applied. An electrically driven car rides on the monorail. One or more cars are connected together to form a train. The drive wheels roll on top of the monorail. Sections of the monorail are telescopically interfitted, Each car has guide rollers rolling along opposite sides of the rail and carries wiper contacts engaging the conductive strips on the monorail to apply power to the electric motor. An electrically operated switch turns a pivotable section of track for switching the train between a main monorail and a branch monorail.

Patented Oct. 13, 1970 Sheet 1 of4 INVENTOR.

Patented Oct.- 13, 1970 3,533,356

INVENTOR.

771 00703 Eufvunq'flk WWW w 7 *mwrq Patented Oct. 13, 1970 Sheet 4- of 4 BY omas 75u70unq 73 5 IITORIVEYJ ELECTRIC TOY MONORAILWAY SYSTEM The present invention relates to improvements in a toy monorail system of the general type described in US Pat. No. 3,1 15,845.

The invention is directed at improvements imparting greater stability to the train while on the monorail, adjustable elevation to the monorail, automatic and manual switching, easier interfitting of monorail sections, general simplification of construction, and greater reliability of operation.

Various objects,'featu'res and advantages of the invention 7 will become apparent upon reading the following specification together with the accompanying drawing forming a part thereof.

Referring to the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a side view of part of a toy monorailway system embodying the invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view on an enlarged scale of one toy car on a monorail according to the invention.

FIG. 3 is a further enlarged'exploded perspective view parts of sections of the monorail.

FIG. 4 and FIG. S'ares'till furthercnlarged fragmentary sectional views taken on lines 4-4 and 5-5, respectively, of

FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a bottom plan view of a curved section which may be used in a monorail loop.

FIG. 7'is an exploded perspective view of parts of a post for supporting the monorail in elevated position.

FIG. 8 is a side view partially in section of a multipart post for supporting the monorail.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view on a magnified scale of the chassis of the toy car, the body of the car being removed.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken on'line 10-10 of FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is a side viewof part of another chassis of a toy car shown on a monorail.

FIG. 12 is a top view'of part of the wheel drive mechanism employed in the chassis ofFlG. 11.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a switching section of a monorail. 1

FIG. 14 is a diagram of a circuit for operating a switching mechanism of FIG. 13.

FIG. 15 is a plan view, with parts broken away, showing mechanical details of the switching mechanism of FIG. 14.

Referring first to FIGS. 1 and 2, part of a'toy monorail system 10 is shown including a monorail which is supported on spaced vertical posts 22 upon a stationary surface 24.

.Movably disposed on the'monorail is a plurality of interconnected self-propelled cars 25 interconnected by removable straps 26. The monorail 20 can be assembled to define a closed loop by means of interfitting sections 28, shown best in FIGS. 3-6. Straight sections 28 are shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 while a curved section 30 is shown in FIG. 6. Each section 28 and 30 of the monorail is rectangular in cross section. It is a hollow rectangular tube made of insulative material such as a suitable molded plastic. At one end 32 of each section is a rectangular tenon 34 of reduced length and width which can slidably into the open other end 36 of another section. Inthe bottom of the tenon is a rectangular hole 38 shown in FIG. 3. At the end 36 of each section is a leaf spring 40 held by a screw 42. This spring has a bent portion, 43 extending into a hole 44 in the bottom of the section. A free finger 46 extends downwardly out of the hole. The spring has an inclined portion 47 along whichthe end 32 of the tenon slides to depress the spring. When springiportion 43 reaches hole 38, the spring snaps into the hole securely engaging the two sections together. The spring can be retracted by manual engagement of finger 46 to release the tenon so that the engaged sections can be pulled apart. A coil spring is mounted on a transverse plate 49 inside'the section. This spring engages the end of the tenon and opposes spring portion 43.

On opposite sides 50 of each monorail section are electrically conductive strips 52 set into grooves 53(see FIGS. 3 and 4). At' the tenon the strips terminate in' outwardly bowed springportions 54 whose ends 55 slide in grooves 56 in upposite sides of the tenon. These spring portions 54 engage ends 58 of strips 52 exposed in holes 59 at inner sides of the rail section at end 36, so that electrical continuity is established between the several interconnected rails. Terminal lugs 60 are formed at intermediate'portions of the strips. They extend around to the underside of the section and retain screws 62 for attachment thereto of wires from a suitable power supply. Holes 64 at the bottoms 61' or 61' of the sections are used in mounting the monorail on posts 22. Each post may include one ormore parts. The-bottom part 65 of each post, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, includes a base plate 66 on which is an upstanding rectangular socket 68. In this socket is a cross plate 69 with threaded hole 70. A vertical screw 71 is adjustably threaded'in hole 70. At the upper end of the screw is a flange 72 and cylindrical pin 74. This pin can fit into one of holes 64 of the monorail if the monorail is to be supported only on sockets 68. A-rectangularextension part 75 is also provided. This has a hole 76in the bottom to receive pin 74 and an axially aligned upstanding pin 74. Pin 74' can fit into hole 64 of the monorail. If a plurality of extension parts 75 are 1 section 28 or 30. By this arrangement of multipart posts, themonorail can be elevated to any desired height. The screws 71 can be turned by grasping'pins 74 for adjusting the elevation of the monorail distances less than the length of one of parts The chassis 80 of a car 25 employed in the system is shown in FIGS. 9 and 10. The body-82 of car 25 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is omittedfrom FIGS. 9 and 10. Each chassis includes a horizontal platform 84 on which is supported a reversible electric motor 86. Shaft 88 of the motor carries a drive gear 90 which engages spur gears 92 and 94 on opposite sides. Gear 92 is mounted on rearwardly extending shaft 94 journaled in bearing 95, 96. At its rear end shaft 94 carries a bevel gear 98 which meshes with lateral beveled gear 99 integrally formed with axially horizontal rear wheel I00.'Wheel 100 is rotatably carried by shaft 101 engagedin brackets 102 carried by an inverted rectangular U-shaped frame 104 securedto the rear end of platform 84. Side walls 106 of frame 104 carry frames l08pivotally mounted by hinges 110.'Axially vertical rollers 112 are carried by frames 108 and bear against opposite sides of the monorail 20. Springs 114 carried by brackets 115 on the side walls 106 engage frames 104 and bias them inwardly so that the rollers 112 are pressed against the sides of the monorail. Wheels 100, 124 bear on top wall 59 of the monorail 20.

Gear 94 is mounted on forwardly extending shaft 116 journalled in bearings 118, 119. At its forward end shaft 116 carries a bevel gear 120 meshed with lateral beveled gear 122 integrally formed with axially horizotal front wheel 124. Wheel 124 is rotatably carried by shaft 125 held in brackets 126 carried by another inverted rectangular U-shaped frame 128 secured to the front end of platform 84. Side walls 106' of frame 128 carry frames 108' pivotally mounted by hinges 110". Axially vertical rollers ll2' are carried by frames'l08 and bear against'opposite sides of monorail 20. Springs 114 carried by brackets 115' on side walls 106' engage frames 108' and bias them inwardly to press rollers 112' against the sides of the monorail. Bent leaf springs 130 on opposite sides of the'frarne 128 slidably engage the conductive strips 52 in grooves 53. Wires 132 connect the springs 130 to terminals 134 of motor 86. Other wires 136 extend from terminals 134 to lamp sockets 140 at front ends of forwardly extending pipes 141 carried by brackets 142 mounted by screws 143 on opposite sides of frame 128 (see FIG.'10). The sockets 140 carry lamp bulbs 144 which are located at front headlight fixtures in body 82 shown in FIG. 2.

In FIGS. 13, 14 and 15, there is showna monorail assembly 20a having a switchable section 28a. One end 158 of section 2811 is pivotally mounted on a bracket 160 carried by a stationary post 162 on base plate 164. The other end 159 of section 280 is mounted on a post 165 supported on casters 166. The casters roll on a track 168 on plate 164(Stop members 170 spaced apart on plate 164 limit lateral movement of section 280. Conductive strips 520 in grooves 53a at opposite sides of section 28a have connected wires 168 terminating at terminal screws 170 on plate 164 for connection of power supply wires 172.

On post 162 is a stationary monorail socket section 28b for receiving the tenon 34 at the end of a section 28 shown in FIG. 3. Socket section 28b has conductive strips 52b at opposite sides provided with contact springs 176 engaging conductive strips 178 in opposite sides of the post. Strips 178 have connecting wires 180 terminating at terminal screws 170. Further conductive strips 182 in or on plate 164 extend to conductive strips 183 on stationary posts 184 and 186 at the other end 159 of section 28a. Conductive strips 52c on monorail sections 28c, 28d are connected via contact springs 188 to conductive strips 183. By this arrangement electrical continuity is maintained through the conductive strips 52, 52b and 52c. Tenons 34a are provided at ends of sections 28c, 28d which are mounted on the spaced posts 184, 186 to receive socket end of other sections 28.

In order to switch the pivotable section 28a, either manually or electrically, there is provided a switching mechanism 200 over which is removable cover 201. This mechanism has a double solenoid 202 with a reciprocable T-shaped plunger 206 guided in a bearing 208 at one end of a stationary plate 210 mounted in turn on a plate 212 secured to platform plate 164. Cross head 214 of the plunger is secured by screws 216 to a plate 218 having an upstanding post 220. The plate 218 has two depending spaced pins 224 and 226 shown in FIGS. 13- 15. Between these pins is inserted short arm 228 of a V- shaped switch bar 230. The long arm 232 of the switch bar extends into a notch 234 in a bracket 236 secured to post 165. When the plunger 206 is drawn back or to the left, as shown in FIGS. 13 and 15, the long arm 232 will turn laterally counterclockwise as viewed in FIGS. 13 and by engagement of pin 224 with short arm 228. When the arm 232 is advanced, pin 226 will engage arm 228 and will turn the switch bar clockwise. Thus the switching section 280 will turn in one direction or the other laterally as the switch bar moves the post 165 in one direction or the other.

To operate the switching mechanism, the circuit 250 of FIG. 14 is employed. Solenoid 202 has windings 252, 253 wound in opposite directions on a core. One end of each winding is connected to terminal 255 of power supply 256. The

other terminal 258 of the power supply is connected to a push button switch 260 connected in turn to the other end of winding 252. The other end of winding 253 is connected via another pushbutton 262 to terminal 258 of the power supply. Plunger 206 is connected to armature 264 inserted inside of windings 252, 253. When the pushbutton switch 260 is closed manually winding 252 will be energized. The plunger 206 will move to the left as viewed in FIG. 15 and the switch bar will move counterclockwise. When switch 262 is closed, the winding 253 will be energized and plunger will move to the right while the switch bar will move clockwise. The turning of section 28a is thus accomplished electrically by remotely located switches. The terminal screws 270 shown in FIG. 13 on plate 164 are terminals of the windings 252, 253 to which other parts of circuit 250 are connected. For manual operation, post 220 can be grasped manually and plate 218 will be moved in one direction or the other to turn the switch bar 230.

The monorail assembly a including the switching section 28a can be inserted in any monorail configuration where a branch is to be interconnected with the main monorail line.

In FIG. 11 there is shown a chassis 800 adapted for turning on curves of a looped monorail. Chassis 80a is generally similar to chassis 80 of FIG. 9 and corresponding parts are identically numbered. In chassis 80a the motor 86' drives a universal transmission mechanism 300 disposed inside a massive housing 290 mounted on a fork 292 pivotally secured by a pin 302 on platform 84a. Front wheel 124 rotates on shaft 125 carried by frame 126a integral with the fork. Identical plates 106" are disposed on opposite sides of monorail 20 to carry rotatable guide rollers 112" which bear against the sides of the monorail. Spring biased frames 108" carry rollers 112" The transmission mechanism 300, as shown in FIG. 12, includes a tubular casing 304 formedwith diametrically opposed slots 306 at opposite sides. Shaft 116" is journaledin bearings 308 movably' mounted in housing 290. Shaft 116" carries wheel drive gear 120 at its forward end engaged with lateral gear 122 of wheel 124. Shaft 116" can turn angularly from side-to-side and can move axially. The rear end of shaft 116" carries a cross pin 310 in head 311 engaged slidably 9 .i fitfl s ns .39 r tates a n is rotated by shaft 116a turns casing 304 which turnsshaft 1 16" and gear its rear end engaged with the drive gear 90 of motor 86'. At its forward end shaft 116a has a cross pin 314 in head 3l5engaged in diametrically opposed slots'3l6 formed at opposite sides of casing 304. When drive gear 90 turns the gear 94, shaft 116a turns casing 304 which turns shaft 116"and gear 108". When the car equipped with chassis 800 moves along a curved section of monorail, either to the right or left as viewed from above, the shaft 116" will turn laterally to remain in engagement with wheel 124 which also turns on the top of the curved monorail.

By the arrangements described, a multiplicity of monorail sections 28 can be arranged to form long straight monorails of any desired length. Curved sections 30 can be interposed to form loops and curves where desired. Switch sections 28a can be provided to interpose branch monorails. The monorails can be arranged at various heights to cross above or below one another by use of adjustable posts shown in FIGS. 7 and 8.

I claim:

1. A toy monorailway system comprising a plurality of rail sections, each of said sections being rectangular in cross section and having a tenon at one end for detachably engaging in an open other end of another section, spring means at the other end of each section for holding said tenon in engagement therewith, each of said sections being formed of insulative material and having parallel sides formed with grooves, conductive strips in the grooves, said strips terminating in outwardly bowed spring portions on each tenon and terminating in inwardly exposed portions at each said other end, whereby said spring portion engages said inwardly exposed portion to insure electrical continuity between connected rail sections, and means for connecting a source of electric voltage to the strips on opposite sides of the sections, and at least one car, said car comprising a chassis and a hollow body mounted over said chassis, said chassis comprising a platform, motor means mounted on said platform, a pair of U-shaped frame members secured to said platform at opposite ends of the chassis, drive wheels mounted on each U-shaped frame and operatively engaged by gear drive means with said motor means, said drive wheels being axially horizontal for riding on the top of the rail sections, and said U-shaped frame members having side plates disposed at the sides of the rail sections, axially vertical guide rollers carried by said side plates rotatably engaging opposite sides of the rail sections, contact elements carried by the chassis slidably contacting the conductive strips on opposite sides of the rail sections, and conductors electrically connecting the contact elements to terminals of the motor for energizing the same and driving the wheels along the top of the rail sections.

2. A toy monorail system as defined by claim 1, further comprising a plurality of vertical posts having a plurality of mutually engageable parts for extending the posts to any required height, said posts having means at the upper ends thereof engageable with bottoms of the rail sections so that the rail sections are supported in elevated position above a supporting surface at any required height.

3. A toy monorail system as defined by claim I, wherein at least one of said rail sections has laterally curved sides for mutually engageable parts for extending the posts' to any required height, said posts having means at the upper ends thereof engageable with bottoms of the rail sections so that the rail sections are supported in elevated position above a supporting surface at any required height.

5. A toy monorail system as defined by claim 1, further comprising a switching rail assembly, said switching rail assembly comprising a first post, a stationary socket section on top of the post for receiving the tenonof one of said plurality of sections, a laterally pivotable horizontal switching rail section, means pivotally mounting the switching rail section on said post, a second post movably supporting the other end of the switching rail section, third and fourth stationary posts, other rail tenons carried by said third and fourth posts, said other rail tenons being spaced apart for alignment with said switching rail sections when the same is pivoted laterally, and an electrically operated switching mechanism for turning said switching rail section selectively between the two other rail tenons.

6. A toy monorail system as defined by claim 5, wherein said switching mechanism comprises a solenoid having a reciprocable plunger, a movable switch plate joined to the plunger, and an angularly turnable switch bar pivotable from side to side by reciprocable movement of said plunger and switch plate, said switch bar being engaged with said second post for moving the same laterally.

7. A toy monorail system as defined by claim 6, further comprising manually movable means on said switch plate for reciprocating the same to turn the switch bar laterally independently of said solenoid.

8. A toy monorail system as defined by claim 2, further comprising a switching rail assembly, said switching rail assembly comprising a first post, a stationary socket section on top of the post for receiving the tenon of one of said plurality of sections, a laterally pivotable horizontal switching rail section, means pivotally mounting the switching rail section on said post, a second post movably supporting the other end of the switching rail section, third and fourth stationary posts, other rail tenons carried by said third and fourth posts, said other rail tenons being spaced apart for alignment with said switching rail section when the same is pivoted laterally, and an electrically operated switching mechanism for turning said switching rail section selectively between the two other rail tenons.

9. A toy monorail system as defined by claim 1, wherein one of said U-shaped frame members is pivotally joined to said platform, and universal transmission means operatively interconnecting the gear means at one of said wheels with said motor means so that said one wheel .turns when, on a curved rail section, the one side plate remains in place at the sides of the curved rail section.

10. A toy monorail system as defined by claim 1, wherein said side plates carry hinged frames, said rollers being supported by said frames, and spring means on the frame members biasing said rollers inwardly against opposite sides of the rail sections. 

